Morphine Abuse 800-303-2482

Morphine Abuse

Morphine has been in common use for decades; it was first discovered by a German pharmacist who was able to isolate it from opium.

Currently more than 1,000 tons is isolated every year and a very large percentage of this passes into a procedure called methylation which forms codeine. The rest ends up on the street; when Morphine is used on the street, the drug has usually been filtered and synthesized in order to make heroin.

Statistics reveal that the abuse of prescription drugs is at an all-time high in the US which is an expensive habit for everyone as tax payers also end up paying the cost.

Medically, Morphine is used for the treatment of moderate and severe chronic pain but it does have high potential for abuse due to its dependency levels also being high. This means that when Morphine is used for a long period of time, the body will become dependent on it and when the drug is not administered, withdrawal symptoms will occur.

In addition to creating a dependency, when it is used over a long period of time Morphine also creates a tolerance and when this happens the dosage has to be increased in order for the original results to be achieved. The degree of tolerance usually depends on the dosage and the period of time that the drug has been abused for.

Morphine abuse often starts innocently, when the patient ignores the doctor’s prescription, however it can eventually result in them forging prescriptions in order to obtain additional quantities of the drug. Reported cases involving the use of this drug purely for recreational purposes have increased steadily in the past few years.

It should also be noted that this drug can cause physical and psychological dependence even when it is used within the doctor’s parameters. Equally important is to recognize the signs of Morphine abuse so that medical intervention can be sought if necessary.

Whenever Morphine is taken in any other way than has been recommended by a medical practitioner, it constitutes an abuse. This includes raising the dose, crushing the pill, chewing the pill, forging a prescription, altering the dosage, taking it too often and even taking it for longer than it was prescribed for.

Some people who abuse Morphine also abuse other illegal drugs as well and they mostly use Morphine to supplement the effects that the main drug is providing. This is another form of abuse and can lead to extremely severe side effects or even death in some cases.

A Morphine overdose will have side effects such as cold skin, weak muscles, slowed breathing, clammy skin, a slow heart rate, coma or stupor.